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I had a few seconds to spare so I wanted to thank everyone for the comments and answer the questions....

1. that anime dress is positively precious. did you just fit it to her, or pattern it off something else? really cute stuff. Posted by: miss fitz

Actually I made a pattern from a shirt that fits her well. I've used it a few times already (the Zoodles shirt for example) but this time I just made it longer to make a dress since the design on the front was so big.

Or should that be "seamed" like a good idea? The plan was to take a navy blue, men's t-shirt I got at the thrift for $1 and make it into a better fitting, more feminine top. I'm not so sure about this.

I have been busily knitting, working on my socks. But in the meantime, during one of my very frequent trips to one of our local thrift shops I found a great skirt to re-fashion. A few months back at the same thrift shop I was drawn to this bright, lime green cardigan that I have been building my wardrobe around ever since. This green in the print of this skirt is a perfect match for the cardigan and has some wonderful complementary colors to bring in, great blues and browns and reds. This skirt is very large so I will be cutting it down to fit and perhaps taking in some on the sides, too, as it is very full. I am quite short, and not so thin anymore, so a little fullness goes a long way. Here is a "before" picture, with the above-mentioned cardigan. Of course my daughters cat had to make his presence known, too!

And here is a closer view of the print.

If all goes well this weekend I'll post the after pictures next week, maybe I can even manage to keep the cat out!

“We as a business cannot afford to have a customer take a second look and ask, ‘Do I need this?’ ” said Bud Konheim, the chief executive of Nicole Miller. “That is the kiss of death. We’re finished, because nobody really needs anything we make as a total industry.”

The divergence of price extremes has become so striking that some fashion executives, including Mr. Konheim, are openly asking whether prices have reached both their nadir and apex at the same moment. “As far as bottom costs go, we’re there,” Mr. Konheim said. “I think we’ve exploited all the countries on earth for people who really want to work for nothing."

though it's not for some sort of muji attack as i thought (very disappointing!). we went to england, you see, and when we arrived there it was very very warm. and then we went to visit relatives in the southern bit and i thought, i'll leave my coat and sweaters up north, why bother with the bulk? except that as the train rolled south the skies became increasingly grey, and i was shivering when we stepped onto the platform.so the get out of jail is for nothing more exciting than a bland ten quid sweater at marks and spencer. go fig.

also, maybe it's just me, but it seems like thrifting in the uk has gone way downhill. before the m&s debacle i did make a round of different charity shops, trying desperately to find a sweater that didn't require a de-ugly overhaul, and it just wasn't happening. oxfam, scope, the rspca, they all let me down! so it was off to m&s which wasn't a vast improvement but at least things were in my size.

there were a couple of more spring-y finds, though:

i like the pattern on this one though it's a bit stretched out and there's a pill-y patch on the side (someone who carries a shoulder bag like i do, it's exactly the same place my work sweaters pill.) definite potential here.

this is in really good condition and has princess seams on the front, as soon as those pockets pop off i think this will become a nice blouse for work. i'm busty enough that chest pockets make me feel like i'm wearing pasties, so i'm always on the lookout for blouses that have nice shaping and pockets that can easily be removed.

and one last confession. this doesn't fall under the get out of jail criteria, but i kind of feel like it does. it's pretty gosh darn close to a shopping binge.

yes, i went there. i went to liberty. i've never been there before and i may never go again, but i was dying to see what the hype is all about. and it was kind of bad. let's just say i hid the receipts from the mister and i'm doing a little overtime this coming week to make up for it.

it may not look like much, but there was also the gorgeous butterfly trim, and the pretty bundles of glass buttons, and the gosh-darn-cruel exchange rate. the one in the back is a jersey, and the top two are cotton lawn. i had only meant to buy some babycord really, i swear, because the babycord is so hard to find online. but the babycord is seasonal and wouldn't be back out until september, so all of a sudden my big restriction disappeared. and then my mother, who was supposed to be my voice of reason, went awol on me (i found her in bath products later, her arms dotted with bath oil samples, dopey with happiness.)

vacation is now officially over, though, and i'm back on the summer plan of sewing up as much of my fabric stash as possible. which has already begun. if this top that i'm working on fits all right--i'm doing the casings now--then we might have a pattern all ready for that dense floral motif on the left there. i've got so many ideas, i might have to sign on for another four months after this!

While at the Pike Festival last weekend I also picked a few things for my daughter. These 2 shirts for example:

The long sleeve is out of season for her right now and the short sleeve has stains all down the front (they are marked with pins in case you noticed that...)

This is what I came up with. The long sleeve lost the mock neck and the sleeves and I attempted a lettuce edge which turned out better than I thought it would. The other got hearts down the front (and 2 on the back) which were cut from the sleeves of the 1st shirt. You may notice that the 2nd heart from the neck is a little darker than the rest....she was eating a popcicle the first time she wore it and well....

Here she is with the long sleeve turned short sleeve.

And this one was a size small T that I thought was the cutest thing. I am still a little bitter that it didn't fit me ;) But it makes such a cute dress for Meg, that I am almost over it!

I spotted several Anda bastardizations in Old Navy ads lately, which prompted me to finally make one already:

And so I spent a day with myself (while the Mister works a
nightshift), mocking up an Anda in light purple poly fabric I got from
a kind Chicago Freecycler,
since it’s fabric I don’t love love love, but could totally live with
if the pattern fits and flatters. Other beauty of the solid color is
that it’ll totally cry out for freezer paper stenciling once it’s done,
and I’ve been thinking about evil eye designs for only the last decade
or so. Such a charming, basic dress. Here’s hoping. I don’t use Burda Style patterns enough, though I’m beginning to look at them more.

Anda is such a simple wonderful dress that's a ROYAL MESS on me, as you can see on fitzfabulous. I know all styles don't work on every body, but this is one I was really rooting for, having seen so many cute versions all over the web. Suggestions ever so welcome!

while we wait for her to grow. Cause I've tried tweaking the first dress a little here and there, but then I figure it can be one of those ones stored in the drawer for the end of winter. Check out the brooch tutorial here